Son

By Jack Olsen

Book Overview

A classic from "the dean of true crime" (The Washington Post)--now with a new foreword--this 1983 masterpiece tells the incredible story of a Spokane, Washington serial rapist who was exposed as the handsome, privileged son of one of the city's most elite families.

For more than two years, a rapist prowled the night streets of the homey, All-American city of Spokane, Washington, terrorizing women, sparking a run on gun stores, and finally causing one newspaper to offer a reward--the calls taken by the distinguished managing editor himself, Gordon Coe. In March 1981, luck and inspired police work at last produced an arrest, and Spokane shuddered. The suspect was clean cut and conservative...and Gordon Coe's son.

For eighteen months, Jack Olsen researched the cases of Fred and Ruth Coe to try to learn not only what happened within that family, but how and why. He interviewed more than 150 people and built up a portrait not only of that extraordinary family, but of the mind of a psychopath. And searching the memories of the women in Fred Coe's life, he unearthed a most horrifying question: What is it like to love and live with a man for years--and then discover he is a psychopathic criminal?

In this "gruesomely spellbinding" (Glamour) examination of the mind of a psychopath and of the women--and men--who were his victims, Olsen delivers "a harrowing portrait...It has become fashionable with books about vicious crimes to compare them to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Finally there is a book that deserves the comparison" (Richmond Times-Dispatch).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1501119044
• ISBN13: 9781501119040
• Release Date: October 2015
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Great book.

Very interesting and horrifying how this person could manipulate so many people and fool the police and authorities for so long.

I couldn't put this book down

This is an incredible story of a serial rapist in Spokane in the early 1980's. Jack Olsen has done a remarkable job in his research. Fred "Kevin" Coe and his mother are two of the strangest people I've read about in the true crime genre, and I believe, as the police did, that soon he wouldn't stop at rape, but move on to murder his victims. His rapes became more violent and frequent. Like many sociopaths, Coe believed he was smarter than the police. Unfortunately, he was able to manipulate and lie his way out of many situations from an early age, and often with the help of his mother, so it reinforced his narcissism and his belief that he was untouchable. The rapes were also happening at a time when the Spokane police were stretched so thin that "minor" crimes slipped through the cracks, and the mentality was that the women were putting themselves in the situation. Jack Olsen has done an extraordinary job in chronicling the details of the series of rapes, as well as delving into who Coe was, and the devastation he wrought on so many lives. I highly recommend this book if you can find it.

Scared the stuffing out of me

I read this book (several times) with increasing horror. To read about the devastation this madman caused so many women was truly chilling. In an almost Bundy-like fashion, Kenny was able to fool so many people for so long. Observing his warped family life, with an hysterical mother and totally removed father did in no way soften my view of this animal. What the book DOESN'T tell you that this mass rapist and hater of women had two convictions overturned and will be eligible for parole in 2006. The thought that he will some day walk the streets again is terrifying. This book made me get up out of bed constantly, check the windows, house alarm, closets for a long time.This is one of Mr. Olsen's BEST BOOKS EVER, especially since it permanently altered how I life my life and became more safety conscious. Thanks, Mr. Olsen for a truly gripping read. I enjoy all your books, but this definitely is your best.

One of Olsen's Best and a Truly Creepy Book

I've read almost everything Jack Olsen has written (he's one of the folks on my short "I buy everything" list), but even in Olsen's body of work, this is a standout.Olsen has written about more heinous criminals -- after all, this guy is "only" a serial rapist. But "Son" really captures the creepy, narcissistic world of the sociopath. The level of detail and understanding is remarkable. He captures the essence of what is pathetic and frightening about these people in a way few other writers have. I first read this book more than a decade ago, but I still think about it.If I were ever going to write a true crime book myself, I'd sit down and read this one about 10 times before getting started.